Exchanging digital content

ABSTRACT

A first content selection stored on a portable media device is associated with a first tag. In addition, a second tag that is associated with a second content selection and that indicates that supplemental content related to the second content selection is stored on a peer device is accessed from a peer device. The first tag is compared to the second tag, and, if a commonality shared by the first content selection and the second content selection is identified, an exchange of the supplemental content from the peer device to the portable media device is initiated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/821,695 filed Aug. 7, 2006, and titled “ExchangingDigital Content,” the entire contents of which is incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to exchanging digital content.

BACKGROUND

Portable media devices enable users to generate, manipulate, receive,transmit, store, access, and/or display (e.g., render, play, orotherwise make perceivable to a user) digital content portably. That isto say, portable media devices enable users to take digital content(e.g., songs, videos, news stories, books, web pages, documents, orphotographs) with them as they travel through the day. Examples of suchportable media devices include, a laptop computer, a mobile telephone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable music player (e.g., a ZEN®portable media center), a portable media player, or a portable messagingdevice (e.g., a Blackberry® or a Palm® Treo).

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a news article is maintained on a portable media deviceand a communication from a peer device is received at the portable mediadevice. In response to a determination, based on the communicationreceived from the peer device, that the peer device has supplementalcontent related to the news article, the supplemental content isreceived from the peer device. In addition, perception of the receivedsupplemental content is enabled.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, one or more tags may be received from the peer device thatinclude a first indication indicating that the peer device has thesupplemental content related to the news article and a second indicationindicating a location associated with the peer device. In addition, thereceived supplemental content may be stored at the portable media deviceand the stored supplemental content may be associated with a thirdindication indicating the location associated with the peer device.

In another aspect, a first tag may be associated with a particularcontent selection from among a group of content selections and a secondtag may be received from a peer device. Thereafter, a determination asto whether the peer device has supplemental content related to theparticular content selection is made based on the received second tag.In response to a determination that the peer device has supplementalcontent related to the particular content selection, supplementalcontent is received from the peer device and perception of the receivedsupplemental content, in association with the particular contentselection, is enabled.

Implementations may include one or more of the following features. Forexample, the first tag may include an indication that identifies theparticular content selection and the second tag may include anindication that the peer device has supplemental content related to theparticular content selection. Furthermore, a third tag may be receivedfrom the peer device that includes an indication of a locationassociated with the peer device. In addition, a determination may bemade as to whether the location associated with the peer device iswithin a predetermined distance from a device of the user and thesupplemental content may be received from the peer device based on adetermination that the location associated with the peer device iswithin the predetermined distance from the device of the user inaddition to a determination that the peer device has supplementalcontent related to the particular content selection.

In some implementations, the first tag may be transmitted to the peerdevice and the second tag may be received from the peer device inresponse to transmitting the first tag to the peer device. Furthermore,the second tag and/or the supplemental content may be received over awireless connection.

The group of content selections may be image files, video files, audiofiles, text files, web pages, or electronic documents. In addition, thesupplemental content may be a rating of the particular contentselection, an indication of a preference for the particular contentselection, a discussion of the particular content selection, or a weblogentry. Furthermore, the peer device may be a portable media device, apersonal digital assistant, a portable computer, a mobile telephone, ora digital media player.

In some implementations, additional supplemental content may betransmitted from the portable media device to the peer device inresponse to receiving the second tag from the peer device. Additionallyor alternatively, the peer device may be interrogated to determinewhether the peer device has supplemental content related to theparticular content selection. In such implementations, the second tagmay be received in response to interrogating the peer device.

Determining whether the peer device has supplemental content related tothe particular content selection may include comparing the receivedsecond tag to the first tag, and determining that the first tag and thereceived second tag correspond to the same content selection.

Supplemental content may be requested from the peer device and thesupplemental content may be received in response to the request. In someimplementations, a user may be informed that the peer device hassupplemental content related to the particular content selection and thesupplemental content may be received in response to receiving aninstruction as input from the user to acquire the supplemental contentrelated to the particular content selection from the peer device.

In another aspect, a first content selection stored on a portable mediadevice is associated with a first tag. In addition, a second tag that isassociated with a second content selection and that indicates thatsupplemental content related to the second content selection is storedon a peer device is accessed from a peer device. The first tag iscompared to the second tag, and, if a commonality shared by the firstcontent selection and the second content selection is identified, anexchange of the supplemental content from the peer device to theportable media device is initiated.

Implementations of any of the techniques described may include a methodor process, an apparatus or system, or computer software on acomputer-accessible medium. The details of one or more implementationsare set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 a-1 c are examples of a graphical user interface for enablingthe display and exchange of digital content on a portable media device.

FIG. 2 a is an illustration of a supplemental content entry thatincludes metadata tags for associating the supplemental content entrywith a particular content selection.

FIG. 2 b is an illustration of a particular content selection withmetadata tags that include supplemental content associated with theparticular content selection.

FIG. 3 a is a block diagram illustrating two portable media devicesconnected over a direct communications link.

FIG. 3 b is a block diagram of a communications system for exchangingdigital content.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a process for exchanging digital content.

FIGS. 5 a and 5 b are diagrams of processes for exchanging digitalcontent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A portable media device enables a user to associate supplemental contentwith a particular content selection stored on the portable media device.For example, the portable media device may enable the user to create oneor more responses, as supplemental content, to a Washington Post articleor a popular song that is stored on the portable media device. Examplesof supplemental content therefore may include these responses, a ratingof the particular content selection, an indication of a preference forthe particular content selection, or a discussion of the particularcontent selection. The supplemental content may be created and stored ina wide variety of different formats such as, for example, a text format,an audio format, a video format, or an audio-visual format.

Enabling a user to create and associate supplemental content with aparticular content selection that is stored on the portable media devicemay create a different and more personalized interaction with whatotherwise may represent mass distributed content. More precisely,enabling a user to create, and store supplemental content associatedwith a content selection stored on the user's portable media device mayfacilitate the creation of a personal journal or weblog (blog) ofcommentary or discussion related to the content selection. For example,the user may associate numerous supplemental content entries over timewith a particular content selection reflecting how the user's opinion ofthe content selection has evolved with time.

To enhance the use of supplemental content that a user has associatedwith a particular content selection, the portable media device maycommunicate with other portable media devices that also maintainsupplemental content associated with the particular content selection tofacilitate the exchange of the supplemental content with the otherportable media devices. By facilitating the exchange of supplementalcontent related to a particular content selection with other portablemedia devices that also have supplemental content related to theparticular content selection, the portable media device enables the userto participate in a richer, more interactive experience. For example, byautomatically locating and acquiring supplemental content related to aparticular content selection, the portable media device may enable auser of the portable media device to identify one or more other userswith similar or conflicting interests, opinions, values, etc. Theability to automatically locate and acquire supplemental content relatedto a particular content selection may be particularly useful insituations where the content selection to which the supplemental contentis related is relatively obscure or unpopular. Furthermore, by linkingthe user of the portable media device to other users of other portablemedia devices that maintain supplemental content associated with thesame content selection (e.g., based on the relatedness of the user tothe other users, demographically, by information and interests inferredor revealed by their profiles or communications or selections, or bytheir selection or expressed knowledge of each other for this or otherpurposes), the portable media device may provide the user with access toa greater breadth and diversity of information and opinion relevant tothe particular content selection than to which would otherwise beavailable to the user.

In one example, a user may store news items on the user's portable mediadevice. After reading a Washington Post article on the portable mediadevice, the user may write a response to the article. Subsequently, theportable media device may communicate with one or more other portablemedia devices to determine whether any other portable media devices havesupplemental content associated with the same Washington Post article.For example, as the user walks from the user's office to the Metrostation, the user's portable media device may interrogate other portableor non-portable media devices in the portable media device's vicinity(e.g., portable media devices carried by passersby as the user walksfrom the user's office to the Metro station or computer and computernetworks proximate or otherwise accessible to the user's portable mediadevice) to determine whether any of the devices have supplementalcontent related to the same Washington Post article. In the event thatthe portable media device identifies another portable media device thathas supplemental information about the same Washington Post article, theportable media device may alert the user to the discovery and enable theuser to exchange supplemental content with the other portable mediadevice having supplemental information related to the Washington Postarticle. For instance, the portable media device may enable the user toacquire the supplemental content about the Washington Post article fromthe other portable media device. Additionally or alternatively, theportable media device may enable the user to transmit the user'sresponse to the Washington Post article to the other portable mediadevice.

When a user of a portable media device creates supplemental contentrelated to a particular content selection, an identifier may begenerated in order to logically associate the supplemental content withthe particular content selection to which it is related. In someimplementations, the user may affirmatively create the logicalassociation between the supplemental content and the content selectionby instructing the portable media device to record the relationship.Alternatively, the portable media device may analyze a content selectionwith a dictionary of keywords in order to generate a metadata tag, orsimilar identifier, for the content selection.

In other implementations, the user's act of generating supplementalcontent may inspire the portable media device to identify and record therelationship between the supplemental content and a particular contentselection automatically. For example, if a user creates supplementalcontent at the same time as, or a short time after, perceiving aparticular content selection (e.g., listening to a song, watching avideo, reading a news story, listening to and/or reading a book, orviewing a photograph), the portable media device may determine that thesupplemental content is to be associated with the recently perceivedcontent selection. Consequently, the portable media device automaticallymay generate an identifier that records the association between thesupplemental content and the particular content selection. Additionallyor alternatively, the portable media device may analyze recently-createdsupplemental content in an attempt to identify a particular contentselection stored on the portable media device with which to associatethe supplemental content. For example, the portable media device mayparse a supplemental content entry for certain keywords in order todetermine a content selection with which to associate the supplementalcontent.

In addition to recording the association between the supplementalcontent and the content selection with which the supplemental content isrelated, the identifier also may include geographic information thatidentifies the location of the portable media device. In someimplementations, the geographic information may be updated dynamicallyas the location of the portable media device changes. For example, theportable media device may include a global positioning system (GPS)receiver that enables the portable media device to determine itsposition and update the geographic information accordingly. Additionallyor alternatively, the portable media device may communicate over awireless network and update the geographic information based on thedifferent base stations with which the portable media devicecommunicates. In other implementations, the geographic information maynot be updated dynamically.

A portable media device that maintains supplemental content related to aparticular content selection may attempt to locate other portable mediadevices that have supplemental content related to the same contentselection by exchanging an identifier in which the association betweenthe supplemental content and the content selection is stored with otherportable media devices. For example, the portable media device maybroadcast the identifier to other portable media devices. When a peerdevice that maintains supplemental content related to the same contentselection receives the broadcasted identifier, the peer device mayrespond to the portable media device and identify itself as a devicethat has supplemental content related to the same content selection.

FIGS. 1 a-1 c are examples of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) 100 a,100 b, and 100 c for enabling the display and exchange of digitalcontent on a portable media device. More particularly, GUIs 100 a, 100b, and 100 c may be rendered on a portable media device to enable a userof the portable media device to play songs stored on the portable mediadevice and to perceive and exchange supplemental content associated withthe songs being played.

GUI 100 a of FIG. 1 a includes a “Now Playing” left panel 102, a “MySupplemental Content” upper right panel 104, and an “Other Users'Supplemental Content” lower right panel 106. “Now Playing” panel 102displays information about the content selection currently beingrendered on the portable media device. For example, “Now Playing” panel102 includes an artist name field 108, an album name field 110, and atrack listing 112 that identify the album currently being played, theband that recorded the album, and the songs recorded on the album. Inaddition, “Now Playing” panel 102 includes a now playing field 114identifying the song currently being played and a progress bar 116 thatindicates the user's current location within the song.

The “My Supplemental Content Panel” 104 displays supplemental contentcreated by the user that is related to the album currently being playedon the portable media device and allows the user to create additionalsupplemental content related to the album being played. In particular,right panel 104 includes supplemental content created by the user, suchas first comment 118 and second comment 120. In addition, “MySupplemental Content Panel” 104 includes an “Add New Comment” button 122that enables the user to create additional supplemental contentassociated with the album currently being played by activating the “AddNew Comment” button 122.

When a user activates the “Add New Comment” button 122, another GUI maybe rendered that enables the user to input supplemental content such as,for example, an opinion regarding the album currently being played, apreference for the album currently being played, or any other commentrelated to the album being played. In one example, the portable mediadevice may enable the user to record supplemental content using amicrophone or a microphone and video camera combination on the portablemedia device. In another example, the portable media device may enablethe user to enter commentary using a keyboard on the portable mediadevice.

In some implementations, the portable media device enables a user of theportable media device to generate supplemental content associated with aparticular content selection even if the particular content is not beingdisplayed or otherwise being made perceivable. In such cases, theportable media device may enable the user to affirmatively instruct theportable media device to associate the supplemental content with aparticular content selection. Alternatively, the user's act of creatingthe supplemental content alone may generate an association with aparticular content selection automatically. For example, when a userinputs supplemental content a short time period after perceiving aparticular content selection, the portable media device may determinethat the supplemental content is intended to be associated with thecontent selection. Therefore, the portable media device may record theassociation automatically. Additionally or alternatively, the portablemedia device may analyze a newly input supplemental content entry in anattempt to determine a content selection with which to associate thesupplemental content. For example, the portable media device may parse anewly-entered supplemental content entry for certain keywords in orderto determine a content selection with which to associate thesupplemental content.

The “Other Users' Supplemental Content” panel 106 enables a user tolocate other users and/or peer devices that have supplemental contentthat is related to the album currently being played on the portablemedia device. In particular, the “Other Users' Supplemental Content”panel 106 includes a “Find Other Users With Comments” button 124. The“Find Other Users with Comments” button 124 enables a user to search forand identify other users and/or peer devices that also have supplementalcontent that is related to the album currently being played byactivating the “Find Other Users with Comments” button 124. In addition,the other users' supplemental content panel 106 includes a limit searchresults field 126 that enables the user to limit the search resultsreturned in response to an activation of the “Find Other Users WithComments” button 124. More specifically, the limit search results field126 includes a limit search results distance sub-field 126 a and a limitsearch results user sub-field 126 b. By manipulating the limit searchresults distance sub-field 126 a and the limit search results usersub-field 126 b, the user of the portable media device can limit thesearch results returned in response to an activation of the “Find OtherUsers With Comments” button 124 to users and/or peer devices that arewithin a specified distance of the user and/or to a maximum number ofusers and/or peer devices.

FIG. 1 b is an example of a GUI 100 b displayed in response toactivation of the “Find Other Users With Comments” button 124 of GUI 100a of FIG. 1 a. In response to the activation of the “Find Other Userswith Comments” button 124 of FIG. 1 a, the portable media devicesearches for and identifies other users and/or peer devices that havesupplemental content related to the album currently being played. Afterother users and/or peer devices that have supplemental content relatedto the album currently being played are identified, a list 128 of otherusers and/or peer devices that have supplemental content related to thealbum currently being played is presented in the “Other Users'Supplemental Content” panel 106.

In particular, the list 128 of other users and/or peer devices that havesupplemental content related to the album currently being playedincludes an entry 130 indicating that Jon's peer device has supplementalcontent related to the album currently being played, an entry 132indicating that Melissa's peer device has supplemental content relatedto the album currently being played, and an entry 134 indicating thatScott's peer device has supplemental content related to the albumcurrently being played.

In addition to identifying other users and/or peer devices that havesupplemental content related to the album currently being played, thelist 128 identifies the location of each user and/or peer deviceidentified as having-supplemental content related to the album currentlybeing played. For example, entry 130 indicates that Jon's peer device iscurrently located on the 1200 block of F Street, NW in Washington, D.C.,entry 132 indicates that Melissa's peer device is currently located onthe 1400 block of K Street, NW in Washington, D.C., and entry 134indicates that Scott's peer device is currently located on the 700 blockof P Street, NW in Washington, D.C.

List 128 also includes an icon 136 displayed beside entry 130 indicatingthat Jon is a favorite user of the user of the portable media device.For example, Jon may be listed as an entity in the user's list ofco-users (e.g., the user's AIM® Buddy List) maintained on the portablemedia device. Additionally or alternatively, the user may maintaincontact information for Jon in a contacts list or address book stored onthe portable media device, or the user may have stored some otherindication on the portable media device identifying Jon as a known orpreferred user. In some implementations, the portable media device mayenable the user to add other users identified in list 128 to a preferredlist of co-users stored on the portable media device.

“Other Users' Supplemental Content” panel 106 also includes a “Select”button 138. By selecting one of the users and/or peer devices identifiedin list 128 and then activating “Select” button 138, the user mayinstruct the portable media device to acquire the supplemental contentassociated with the album currently being played from one of the usersand/or peer devices identified in the list 128. For example, the usermay select entry 134 from the list 128 and then activate the “Select”button 138 in order to instruct the portable media device to acquire thesupplemental content from Scott's peer device.

FIG. 1 c is an example of a GUI 100 c displayed after selection of entry134 from list 128 and activation of the “Select” button 138 of GUI 100 bof FIG. 1 b. In response to receiving the user's instruction to acquirethe supplemental content from Scott's peer device, the “Other Users'Supplemental Content” panel 106 now presents Scott's supplementalcontent associated with the album currently being played. In particular,the other users' supplemental content panel 106 includes a comment 140that the portable media device acquired from Scott's peer device. Inaddition, the “Other Users' Supplemental Content” panel 106 includes a“Start Chat” button 142 that enables the user of the portable mediadevice to initiate a real-time or pseudo real-time electronic chat ordiscussion with Scott. For example, if the user is interested inpurchasing Scott's extra ticket, the user may be interested ininitiating a chat with Scott in order to negotiate a purchase price forthe ticket. Selecting “Start Chat” button 142 may launch an instantmessaging or similar chat program that enables the user to communicatewith Scott in real-time or pseudo real-time.

The GUIs 100 a, 100 b, and 100 c presented in FIGS. 1 a-1 c are merelyexamples of GUIs for enabling the display and exchange of digitalcontent on a portable media device. Other configurations andimplementations are contemplated. For example, other GUIs may enable theuser to perceive other formats of digital content such as, for example,a video, a news story, a book, a web page, a document, or a photograph.Additionally or alternatively, other GUIs may enable the user to acquireand/or exchange supplemental content related to one or more particularcontent selections stored on the portable media device even if theportable media device is not currently rendering the one or moreparticular content selections.

A variety of different mechanisms may be used to associate supplementalcontent with a particular content selection stored on a portable mediadevice. For example, when a user generates a supplemental content entryassociated with a particular content selection, one or more metadatatags may be associated with, embedded within, or otherwise linked to thesupplemental content entry so as to associate the supplemental contententry with the particular content selection. Additionally oralternatively, when a user generates a supplemental content entryassociated with a particular content selection, one or more metadatatags may be associated with, embedded within, or otherwise linked to theparticular content selection so as to associate the supplemental contententry with the particular content selection.

FIG. 2 a is an illustration of a supplemental content entry 200 thatincludes metadata tags for associating the supplemental content entry200 with a particular content selection. In particular, the supplementalcontent entry 200 includes a content selection metadata tag 202 thatindicates that the supplemental content entry 200 is associated with theWashington Post article “France's Zidane Sees Red, Ends Fabled CareerWith an Ejection.” In addition, the supplemental content entry 200includes an author metadata tag 204 identifying Joe as the author of thesupplemental content entry 200, a date metadata tag 206 identifying Jul.10, 2006 as the date on which the supplemental content entry 200 wascreated, a location metadata tag 208 identifying the 1600 block of UStreet, NW in Washington, D.C. as a location associated with a portablemedia device on which the supplemental content entry 300 is stored, anda keywords metadata tag 210 identifying keywords associated with thesupplemental content entry 200 and/or the particular content selectionwith which the supplemental content entry 200 is associated. Thesupplemental content entry 200 also has a body 212 that includes theactual content of the supplemental content entry 200.

FIG. 2 b is an illustration of a particular content selection 250 havingmetadata tags that include supplemental content associated with theparticular content selection 250. In particular, a supplemental contentmetadata tag 252 including a supplemental content entry has beenembedded in the particular content selection 250. In addition, an authormetadata tag 254 identifying Joe as the author of the supplementalcontent entry, a date metadata tag 256 identifying Jul. 10, 2006 as thedate on which the supplemental content entry was created, a locationmetadata tag 258 identifying the 1600 block of U Street, NW inWashington, D.C. as a location associated with a portable media deviceon which the particular content selection 250 is stored, and a keywordsmetadata tag 260 identifying keywords associated with the supplementalcontent entry and/or the particular content selection 250 are alsoembedded within the particular content selection. The particular contentselection 250 also includes a body 262 that includes the actual contentof the particular content selection 250.

Other mechanisms also may be used to record and/or store an associationbetween a supplemental content entry and a particular content selection.For example, a single metadata tag may be embedded within a particularcontent selection to record a variety of metadata associated with theparticular content selection as well as the existence of a supplementalcontent entry associated with the particular content selection. Theinformation stored within the single metadata tag may include, forexample, an indication of a title or name of the particular contentselection, data that is descriptive of the particular content selection,a personal opinion or response to the particular content selection, anindication of a preference for the particular content selection,keywords that are related to the particular content selection, anindication of a location associated with the portable media device onwhich the particular content selection is stored, and/or an indicationof whether supplemental content associated with the particular contententry exists. For the purposes of illustration, an example of a singlemetadata tag including information related to the album “Seven and theRagged Tiger” by Duran Duran may take the form:

<Selection=Duran Duran, “Seven and the Ragged Tiger”;

-   -   Selection Description=1980s music;    -   Keywords=British new wave, synthesizer;    -   Preference=Like;    -   Supplemental Content Exists=True;    -   Location=Washington, D.C.>        In this example, setting the “supplemental content exists”        attribute to true indicates that a supplemental content entry        that is associated with the album exists on the portable media        device.

FIG. 3 a is a block diagram illustrating two portable media devices 302and 304 connected over a direct communications link. More particularly,FIG. 3 a is a block diagram that illustrates a first portable mediadevice 302 that is capable of communicating and exchanging digitalcontent directly with a second portable media device 304 over a wired ora wireless direct communications link 306.

Each of the portable media devices 302 and 304 may include one or moredevices capable of accessing content available from other portable mediadevices, or, more generally from other electronic devices. In addition,each of the portable media devices 302 and 304 may include a controller(not shown) that processes instructions received from or generated by asoftware application, a program, a piece of code, a device, a computer,a computer system, or a combination thereof, which independently orcollectively direct operations of each of the portable media devices 302and 304. The instructions may be embodied permanently or temporarily inany type of machine, component, equipment, storage medium, or propagatedsignal that is capable of being delivered to the portable media devices302 and 304 or that may reside with each of the portable media devices302 and 304. Each of the portable media devices may include a laptopcomputer, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), aportable music player, such as, for example, a ZEN® portable mediacenter, a portable media player, a portable messaging device, such as,for example, a Blackberry® or a Palm® Treo, a component, otherequipment, or some combination of these items that is capable ofresponding to and executing instructions.

In one implementation, each of the portable media devices 302 and 304may include one or more information retrieval software applications(e.g., a browser, a mail application, an instant messaging client, anInternet service provider client, or an AOL TV or other integratedclient) capable of receiving one or more data units. The informationretrieval applications may run on a general-purpose operating system anda hardware platform that includes a general-purpose processor andspecialized hardware for graphics, communications and/or othercapabilities. In another implementation, each of the portable mediadevices 302 and 304 may include a micro-browser application running on areduced operating system with general purpose and specialized hardwarecapable of operating in mobile environments.

Furthermore, each of the portable media devices 302 and 304 may includeone or more media applications. For example, each of the portable mediadevices may include a software application that enables each of theportable media devices 302 and 304 to receive and display an audio orvideo data stream. The media applications may include controls thatenable a user to configure the user's media environment. For example, ifthe media application is receiving an Internet radio station, the mediaapplication may include controls that enable the user to select anInternet radio station, for example, through the use of “preset” iconsindicating the station genre (e.g., country) or a favorite. In anotherexample, the controls may enable the user to rewind or fast-forward areceived media stream. For example, if a user does not care for a trackon a particular station, the user may interface with a “next track”control that will queue up another track (e.g., another song).

The direct communications link 306 enables the two portable mediadevices 302 and 304 to communicate and exchange digital content withoutthe use of an intermediary. For example, the two portable media devices302 and 304 may employ a wireless local area network (LAN) or personalarea network (PAN) such as, for example, Bluetooth or IEEE 802.11.Additionally or alternatively, the direct communications link 306between the two portable media devices 302 and 304 may employ otherforms of wireless communications technology and architectures including,for example, optical infrared communications technology and/or awireless mesh network. In order for the two portable media devices 302and 304 to communicate directly with one another over the directcommunications link 306, the two portable media devices may need to bewithin a specified range of one another.

Portable media devices 302 and 304 may communicate with each other overdirect communications link 306 in order to determine whether theportable media devices 302 and 304 each maintain supplemental contentthat is related to the same content selection. For example, firstportable media device 302 may include supplemental content related tothe Duran Duran album entitled “Seven and the Ragged Tiger.” As such,first portable media device 302 may communicate with second portablemedia device 304 over direct communications link 306 to determinewhether the second portable media device 304 has supplemental contentrelated to the Duran Duran album “Seven and the Ragged Tiger.” In theevent that portable media device 304 has supplemental content related tothe Duran Duran album “Seven and the Ragged Tiger,” portable mediadevices 302 and 304 may exchange supplemental content related to “Sevenand the Ragged Tiger.”

FIG. 3 b is a block diagram of a communications system for exchangingdigital content. More particularly, FIG. 3 b illustrates two portablemedia devices 302 and 304 connected over a network 308 for exchangingdigital content. The network 308 may include hardware and/or softwarecapable of enabling direct or indirect communications between theportable media devices 302 and 304. As such, the network 308 may includea direct link between the portable media devices, or it may include oneor more networks or subnetworks between the portable media devices 302and 304. Each network or subnetwork may include, for example, a wired orwireless data pathway capable of carrying and receiving data. Examplesof the delivery network include the Internet, the World Wide Web, a WideArea Network (WAN), a LAN, analog or digital wired and wirelesstelephone networks, radio, television, cable, satellite, and/or anyother delivery mechanism for carrying data. In addition, the network mayexhibit a centralized architecture (e.g., hub and spoke) or,additionally or alternatively, the network may exhibit a decentralizedarchitecture (e.g., a peer-to-peer or wireless mesh network). Byutilizing network 308 to communicate with one another, portable mediadevices 302 and 304 may be able to communicate with one another across agreater distance than they would over a direct communications link. Inaddition, network 308 may allow each of the portable media devices 302and 304 to communicate with one or more additional portable mediadevices (not shown) or one or more additional electronic devices (notshown) accessible via network 308 over a larger geographic area than mayotherwise be possible. Furthermore, network 308 may enable each of theportable media devices 302 and 304 to access a host computer (e.g.,server or server farm) that offers enhanced services.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart 400 of an example of a process for exchangingsupplemental content associated with a particular content selectionbetween two portable media devices. The process begins by associating aparticular content selection (e.g., a song, a music album, a video, anews story, a book, or a photograph) on a portable media device with afirst identifier (402). The first identifier may include a metadata tagor other identifier that indicates an interest of a user of the portablemedia device in receiving supplemental content related to the particularcontent selection. Additionally or alternatively, the identifier mayinclude a metadata tag or other identifier that indicates that the userof the portable media device has generated supplemental content relatedto the particular content selection. The identifier also may include anindication of a geographic location associated with the portable mediadevice.

After associating the particular content selection with the firstidentifier, the portable media device receives a second identifier froma peer device (404). The second identifier may include a metadata tag orother identifier that indicates that the peer device has supplementalcontent related to a content selection. The identifier also may includean indication of a location associated with the peer device. Theportable media device may receive the second identifier from the peerdevice in response to having broadcast a query looking to identify peerdevices that have supplemental content related to the particular contentselection. Alternatively, the portable media device may receive thesecond identifier without having actively solicited supplemental contentrelated to the particular content selection.

The portable media device then determines whether the peer device hassupplemental content related to the particular content selection basedon the received second identifier (406). If the second identifierindicates that the peer device has supplemental content related to acontent selection that is different than the particular contentselection, the portable media device may determine that the peer devicedoes not have supplemental content related to the particular contentselection. Alternatively, if the second identifier indicates that thepeer device has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection, the portable media device determines that the peer device hassupplemental content related to the particular content selection. Insituations where the second identifier indicates that the peer devicehas supplemental content related to the particular content selection,the second identifier may be the same as or different than the firstidentifier.

If the portable media device determines that the peer device does nothave supplemental content related to the particular content selection,the portable media device continues to monitor the reception of incomingidentifiers (407). If the portable media device determines that the peerdevice has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection, the portable media device receives the supplemental contentfrom the peer device (408). For example, after determining that the peerdevice has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection, the portable media device may transmit a request to the peerdevice requesting that the peer device send the supplemental content tothe portable media device.

After receiving the supplemental content from the peer device, theportable media device displays the supplemental content in associationwith the particular content selection (410). In one example, thesupplemental content received from the peer device may be related to asong or album on the portable media device. In such a situation, theportable media device may display the supplemental content from the peerdevice concurrently with playing the song or album. In another example,the supplemental content received from the peer device may be related toa news story on the portable media device. In such a situation, theportable media device may display the supplemental content from the peerdevice concurrently with displaying the news story. In someimplementations, the portable media device may enable the supplementalcontent received from the peer device to be displayed without displayingthe particular content selection concurrently.

FIG. 5 a is a diagram 500 of a process for exchanging digital content.More particularly, the diagram 500 illustrates a process for exchangingsupplemental content associated with a particular content selectionbetween two portable media devices 502 and 504. The process begins whenthe first portable media device 502 transmits a request for supplementalcontent associated with a particular content selection stored on thefirst portable media device 502 (506). The first portable media device502 may transmit the request to a particular portable media device(e.g., portable media device 504) or, more generally, the first portablemedia device 502 may transmit the request to any number of unidentifiedportable media devices. In some implementations, the first portablemedia device 502 may transmit the request in response to a userinstruction. Additionally or alternatively, the first portable mediadevice 502 may transmit the request automatically (i.e., without userinstruction). For example, the first portable media device 502 maytransmit the request for supplemental content associated with theparticular content selection on a periodic basis. In someimplementations, the request for supplemental content associated withthe particular content selection may include a metadata tag or otheridentifier that indicates that the user of the first portable mediadevice is interested in receiving supplemental content associated withthe particular content selection or that indicates that the user hascreated supplemental content associated with the particular contentselection.

The second portable media device 504 receives the request forsupplemental content related to the particular content selection (508)and determines if the second portable media device 504 has supplementalcontent associated with the content selection (510). For example, inresponse to receiving the request for supplemental content related tothe particular content selection, the second portable media device 504may search the second portable media device for a metadata tag or otheridentifier indicating that a user of the second portable media device504 has created supplemental content associated with the particularcontent selection.

If the second portable media device 504 determines that the secondportable media device does not have supplemental content associated withthe particular content selection, the second portable media device 504continues to monitor incoming requests for supplemental content (511).If the second portable media device 504 determines that the secondportable media device 504 has supplemental content associated with theparticular content selection, the second portable media device 504 sendsan acknowledgement to the first portable media device 502 indicatingthat the second portable media device has supplemental contentassociated with the particular content selection (512). In someimplementations, the acknowledgement that the second portable mediadevice 504 has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection may include a metadata tag or other identifier that indicatesthat a user of the second portable media device 504 has createdsupplemental content associated with the particular content selection.In addition, the acknowledgement may include an indication of ageographic location of the second device.

The first portable media device receives the acknowledgement indicatingthe existence of supplemental content on the second portable mediadevice 504 (514) and, in response, requests the supplemental contentfrom the second portable media device 504 (516). The second portablemedia device 504 receives the request for the supplemental content onthe second portable media device 504 from the first portable mediadevice 502 (518) and, in response, transmits the supplemental content tothe first portable media device 502 (520). The first portable mediadevice 502 receives the supplemental content from the second portablemedia device 502 (522), and displays the received supplemental content(524).

In some implementations, the second identifier may include a metadatatag indicating a preference for a user of the second portable mediadevice 504 related to the particular content selection. For example, ametadata tag may include an indication that the user of the secondportable media device 504 favors, or, alternatively, disfavors, theparticular content selection. Consequently, the first portable mediadevice 502 may only request supplemental content related to theparticular content selection from the second portable media device 504if the second identifier includes information indicating that the userof the second portable media device 504 favors the particular contentselection. Alternatively, the first portable media device 502 may onlyrequest supplemental content related to the particular content selectionfrom the second portable media device 504 if the second identifierincludes information indicating that the user of the second portablemedia device 504 disfavors the particular content selection.

As discussed above, in some implementations, the first portable mediadevice 502 may broadcast the request for supplemental content associatedwith the particular content selection to an unlimited number ofunspecified portable media devices. In such implementations, the firstportable media device 502 may receive acknowledgements from multipleportable media devices that indicate that each of the multiple portablemedia devices have supplemental content related to the particularcontent selection. Therefore, the first portable media device 502 mayenable the user of the first portable media device 502 to specify theparticular portable media devices from which the first portable mediadevice 502 should request supplemental content.

One criterion the user of the first portable media device 502 may use inselecting the portable media device from which to request supplementalcontent may be geographic location. For example, the user of the firstportable media device 502 may instruct the first portable media device502 only to request supplemental content from portable media devices inthe same geographic location as the user of the first portable mediadevice 502. In some implementations, a user of the first portable mediadevice 502 may implicitly or explicitly limit or expand the range of thesignal broadcast by the first portable media device 502 in order tonarrow or broaden the boundaries of the geographic location within whichother portable media devices are interrogated by the first portablemedia device 502. For example, the first portable media device 502 maybe configured to be able to broadcast the signal at various differentwavelengths and/or transmission powers and the user of the firstportable media device 502 may select from among one or more differentwavelengths and/or transmission powers in order to narrow or broaden therange of the broadcasted signal. Additionally or alternatively, the userof the first portable media device 502 may limit or expand the range ofthe signal broadcast by the first portable media device 502 by selectingdifferent protocols over which to broadcast the signal. For instance,the first portable media device 502 may be configured to broadcast thesignal over one or more of the Bluetooth communications protocol, theWifi communications protocol, or the Wimax communications protocol, andthe user of the first portable media device 502 may select from amongthe Bluetooth communications protocol, the Wifi communications protocol,or the Wimax communications protocol in order to narrow or broaden therange of the broadcasted signal. Furthermore, the user of the firstportable media 502 device may be able to narrow or broaden the range ofthe signal broadcast by the first portable media device 502 by limitingor expanding the maximum number of network hops or ping latencies forthe broadcasted signal.

Alternatively, the user of the first portable media device 502 mayinstruct the first portable media device 502 to request supplementalcontent from devices in a particular geographic location for which theuser of the first portable media device 502 is interested in gaugingpublic opinion related to the particular content selection. For example,the particular content selection may be a news story concerningpolitics, and the user of the first portable media device 502 may beinterested in gauging the public opinion about the political news storyfrom users from different geographic regions of the country or inparticular regions of a city. Therefore, the user of the first portablemedia device 502 may first instruct the first portable media device 502to only request supplemental content from portable media devicesassociated with a first geographic area such as, for example, thesouthern United States. Then, after sampling the public opinion relatedto the political news story in the first geographic area, the user ofthe first portable media device 502 may instruct the first portablemedia device 502 to only request supplemental content from portablemedia devices located in a second geographic area such as, for example,the northeastern United States.

In another example, in a city such as, for example, Washington, D.C., inwhich residents and visitors represent many different places of origin,the first portable media device 502 enables a user of the first portablemedia device 502 to gauge the public opinion regarding a particularcontent selection of people that are currently located in the city butthat represent a different place or region of origin. For instance, ifthe user of the first portable media device 502 is interested in gaugingthe public opinion of New Yorkers in Washington, D.C. regarding aWashington Post article about the 2006 New York state senate race, theuser of the first portable media device 502 may instruct the firstportable media device 502 to only request supplemental content fromportable media devices that are currently located in Washington, D.C.but that are associated with New York state.

As an extension of this concept, the portable media device may functionas a device for collecting various metrics related to popular opinion.For example, as a user of the first portable media device 502 walksalong a city block, the first portable media device 502 may interrogateall other portable media devices within a predetermined vicinity of thefirst portable media device 502 to determine which portable mediadevices have content related to a particular content selection stored onthe portable media device such as, for example, a political newsarticle. After identifying other portable media devices that havesupplemental content related to the particular content selection, thefirst portable media device 502 may acquire the supplemental contentfrom the identified portable media devices and analyze the acquiredsupplemental content in an effort to measure public opinion regardingthe issues addressed in the particular content selection. For instance,the first portable media device 502 may measure public opinion regardingthe issues addressed in the content selection by comparing the number ofpositive responses to the particular content selection with the numberof negative responses to the particular content selection.

In some implementations, the first portable media device 502 maygenerate a public opinion poll regarding a particular content selection.For example, the first portable media device 502 may interrogate allother portable media devices within a predetermined vicinity of thefirst portable media device to determine which portable media deviceshave a particular content selection that is also stored on the firstportable media device 502. After identifying other portable mediadevices that also have the particular content selection, the firstportable media device 502 may send a query to the users of theidentified portable media devices to determine the other users' opinionsregarding the particular content selection. After receiving the query,the users of the other portable media devices may respond by sendingsupplemental content (e.g., an opinion or preference) regarding theparticular content selection to the first portable media device 502.

In implementations in which the first portable media device 502automatically transmits requests for supplemental content associatedwith the particular content selection to other portable media devices,the first portable media device 502 may employ logic to determine how torespond to acknowledgments received from other portable media devicesthat indicate that the other portable media devices have supplementalcontent related to the particular content selection.

For example, in some implementations, the first portable media device502 may not automatically request supplemental content from everyportable media device that acknowledges that it has supplemental contentassociated with the particular content selection. Rather, the firstportable media device 502 may alert the user of the first portable mediadevice 502 to the fact that the first portable media device 502 hasdiscovered another portable media device that has supplemental contentrelated to the particular content selection and prompt the user todetermine whether the first portable media device 502 should request thesupplemental content from the discovered portable media device.

In other implementations, the first portable media device 502 maydetermine how to respond to the discovery of one or more other portablemedia devices that have supplemental content related to the particularcontent selection based on the particular content selection itself orbased on the availability and/or currency of supplemental contentassociated with the particular content selection. For example, for aparticular content selection for which the user of the first portablemedia device 502 already has collected a relatively large amount ofsupplemental content from other portable media devices, the firstportable media device 502 may not automatically request supplementalcontent in response to receiving an acknowledgment of the existence ofsupplemental content on a newly discovered portable media device.Similarly, for a particular content selection for which the user of thefirst portable media device 502 already has collected a relatively largeamount of supplemental information from other portable media devices,the first portable media device 502 may not alert the user of the firstportable media device 502 every time an acknowledgment of the existenceof supplemental content is received from a newly discovered portablemedia device.

Alternatively, for a particular content selection for which the user ofthe first portable media device 502 has collected little or nosupplemental content, and/or little or no recent supplemental content,from other portable media devices (e.g., a particular content selectionrelated to a particularly obscure topic), the first portable mediadevice 502 may automatically request supplemental content in response toreceiving an acknowledgment of the existence of supplemental content ona newly discovered portable media device. Similarly, for a particularcontent selection for which the user of the first portable media device502 has collected little or no supplemental content, and/or little or norecent supplemental content, from other portable media devices, thefirst portable media device 502 may alert the user of the first portablemedia device 502 every time an acknowledgment of the existence ofsupplemental content is received from a newly discovered portable mediadevice.

In some implementations, the first portable media device 502 maydetermine that another portable media device has a content selectionthat the first portable media device 502 also has but for which thefirst portable media device 502 has relatively little or no supplementalcontent. However, the first portable media device 502 also may determinethat the other portable media device also does not have supplementalcontent related to the content selection. In such instances, the firstportable media device 502 may initiate a query to a user of the otherportable media device requesting that the user create and sendsupplemental content related to the content selection to the firstportable media device 502. In some implementations, the first portablemedia device 502 may send an electronic form to the other portable mediadevice querying a user of the other portable device for the user'sopinion of the content selection. For example, if the content selectionis a news article regarding the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance inschools, the form may ask “As a result of reading this article, are younow in favor of or against requiring children to recite the Pledge ofAllegiance in school?”

FIG. 5 b is a diagram 530 of another process for exchanging digitalcontent. More particularly, diagram 530 illustrates a process forexchanging supplemental content associated with a particular contentselection between two portable media devices 502 and 504. The processillustrated in FIG. 5 a generally involves the first portable mediadevice 502 actively requesting supplemental content related to aparticular content selection. In contrast, in the process illustrated inFIG. 5 b, the first portable media device 502 is not actively requestingsupplemental content related to a particular content selection. Rather,in the process illustrated in FIG. 5 b, the first portable media device502 requests supplemental content from the second portable media device504 in response to receiving a signal indicating the existence ofsupplemental content related to a particular content selection that isbroadcast by the second portable media device 504.

The process is initiated when the second portable media device 504broadcasts a signal indicating the existence of supplemental contentassociated with a particular content selection that is stored on thesecond portable media device 504 (532). In some implementations, thesignal indicating the existence of supplemental content associated withthe particular content selection may include a metadata tag or otheridentifier indicating that the user of the second portable media devicehas created supplemental content associated with the particular contentselection.

The first portable media device 502 receives the signal indicating theexistence of supplemental content associated with the content selectionon the second portable media device (534) and determines whether torequest the supplemental content from the second portable media device504 (538). For example, the first portable media device 502 may searchthe first portable media device 502 for a metadata tag or otheridentifier indicating that the user of the first portable device 502 isinterested in supplemental content associated with the contentselection. Additionally or alternatively, the first portable mediadevice 502 may search the first portable media device 502 for a metadatatag or other identifier indicating that the user of the first portablemedia device 502 has created supplemental content associated with thecontent selection.

If the first portable media device 502 determines not to request thesupplemental content from the second portable media device 504, thefirst portable media device 502 continues monitoring incoming requestsfor supplemental content (537). If the first portable media device 502determines to request the supplemental content from the second portablemedia device 504, the first portable media device 502 transmits arequest for the supplemental content to the second portable media device504 (538). The second portable media device 504 receives the request forthe supplemental content from the first portable media device 502 (540)and, in response, transmits the supplemental content to the firstportable media device 502 (542). The first portable media device 502receives the supplemental content from the second portable media device504 (544) and displays the received supplemental content (546).

The described systems, methods, and techniques may be implemented indigital electronic circuitry, computer hardware, firmware, software, orin combinations of these elements. Apparatuses embodying thesetechniques may include appropriate input and output devices, a computerprocessor, and a computer program product tangibly embodied in amachine-readable storage device for execution by a programmableprocessor.

A process embodying these techniques may be performed by a programmableprocessor executing a program of instructions to perform desiredfunctions by operating on input data and generating appropriate output.The techniques may be implemented in one or more computer programs thatare executable on a programmable system including at least oneprogrammable processor coupled to receive data and instructions from,and to transmit data and instructions to, a data storage system, atleast one input device, and at least one output device. Each computerprogram may be implemented in a high-level procedural or object-orientedprogramming language, or in assembly or machine language if desired; andin any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.

Suitable processors include, by way of example, both general and specialpurpose microprocessors. Generally, a processor will receiveinstructions and data from a read-only memory and/or a random accessmemory. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, such asErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices;magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable disks;magneto-optical disks; and Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM). Anyof the foregoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in,specially-designed application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

Various modifications may be made. For example, useful results still maybe achieved if steps of the disclosed techniques are performed in adifferent order and/or if components in the disclosed systems arecombined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by othercomponents.

Furthermore, two portable media deices are not limited to exchangingsupplemental content related to a particular content selection. Rather,two portable media devices may exchange supplemental content related toa particular subject matter. For example, a first portable media devicemay maintain supplemental content related to a newspaper articlechronicling France's reaction to its loss to Italy in the 2006 World Cupfinal. A second portable media device may maintain supplemental contentrelated to a newspaper article chronicling Italy's reaction to itsvictory over France in the 2006 World Cup final. In such a situation,the supplemental content selection on the first portable media device isrelated to a different content selection than the supplemental contentselection on the second portable media device. Nevertheless, the twosupplemental content entries are related to the same general subjectmatter (e.g., soccer and/or the 2006 World Cup). Therefore, the twoportable media devices may recognize the common subject matter shared bythe two supplemental content entries and consequently facilitate theexchange of the two supplemental content entries.

Moreover, while the systems, methods, and techniques described abovegenerally have been described in the context of exchanging supplementalcontent between two or more portable media devices, the systems,methods, and techniques discussed above also could be applied toelectronic devices that are not traditionally thought of as portablemedia devices such as, for example, general purpose computers including,for example, desktop computers. Furthermore, even when supplementalcontent selections are exchanged between two or more portable mediadevices, the particular content selections to which the exchangedsupplemental content selections are related need not be stored onportable media devices. Rather, the particular content selections towhich the exchanged supplemental content selections are related may bestored on one or more alternative devices (or not stored at all) and theportable media devices merely may include tags that identify thesupplemental content selections as being related to, or otherwiseassociated with, the particular content selections. For example, in someimplementations, the particular content selections may be stored on anetwork host computer that is accessible by one or more of the portablemedia devices while the supplemental content selections are stored onthe portable media devices. Accordingly, other implementations arewithin the scope of the following claims.

1. A method of exchanging information, the method comprising:maintaining a news article on a portable media device; receiving, at theportable media device, a communication from a peer device; determiningif the peer device has supplemental content related to the news articlebased on the received communication, wherein the supplemental contentincludes a description of user reaction to the news article, and whereinthe supplemental content is associated with the news article but remainsseparate and distinct from the news article that is maintained on theportable media device; based on a determination that the peer device hassupplemental content related to the news article, receiving thesupplemental content from the peer device; and enabling a user toperceive the received supplemental content.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein receiving, at the portable media device, a communication from apeer device comprises receiving, at the portable media device, one ormore tags from the peer device, the one or more tags received from thepeer device including a first indication indicating that the peer devicehas the supplemental content related to the news article and a secondindication indicating a location associated with the peer device, themethod further comprising: storing, at the portable media device, thereceived supplemental content; and associating the stored supplementalcontent with a third indication indicating the location associated withthe peer device.
 3. A method of exchanging information, the methodcomprising: associating a first tag with a particular content selectionfrom among a group of content selections; receiving a second tag from apeer device; comparing the first tag and the second tag; determiningwhether the peer device has supplemental content related to theparticular content selection based on the received second tag, whereinthe supplemental content includes a description of user reaction to thenews article, and wherein the supplemental content is associated withthe news article but remains separate and distinct from the news articlethat is maintained on the portable media device; receiving thesupplemental content from the peer device based on a determination thatthe peer device has supplemental content related to the particularcontent selection; and enabling a user to perceive the receivedsupplemental content in association with the particular contentselection.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first tag includes anindication that identifies the particular content selection.
 5. Themethod of claim 3 wherein the second tag includes an indication that thepeer device has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising: receiving athird tag from the peer device, the third tag including an indication ofa location associated with the peer device; and determining whether thelocation associated with the peer device is within a predetermineddistance from a device of the user, wherein receiving the supplementalcontent from the peer device is based on determining that the locationassociated with the peer device is within the predetermined distancefrom the device of the user in addition to determining that the peerdevice has supplemental content related to the particular contentselection.
 7. The method of claim 3 further comprising transmitting thefirst tag to the peer device, wherein receiving the second tag from thepeer device comprises receiving the second tag from the peer device inresponse to transmitting the first tag to the peer device.
 8. The methodof claim 3 wherein: receiving the second tag comprises receiving thesecond tag over a wireless connection, and receiving the supplementalcontent comprises receiving the supplemental content over a wirelessconnection.
 9. The method of claim 3 wherein associating the first tagwith the particular content selection from among the group of contentselections comprises associating the first tag with the particularcontent selection from among the group of content selections includingone or more of an image file, a video file, an audio file, a text file,a web page, or an electronic document.
 10. The method of claim 3 whereinreceiving the supplemental content comprises receiving a rating of theparticular content selection, an indication of a preference for theparticular content selection, or a discussion of the particular contentselection.
 11. The method of claim 3 wherein receiving the second tagfrom the peer device comprises receiving the second tag from a portablemedia device, a personal digital assistant, a portable computer, amobile telephone, or a digital media player.
 12. The method of claim 3further comprising transmitting additional supplemental content to thepeer device in response to receiving the second tag from the peerdevice.
 13. The method of claim 3 further comprising interrogating thepeer device to determine whether the peer device has supplementalcontent related to the particular content selection, wherein receivingthe second tag comprises receiving the second identifier in response tointerrogating the peer device.
 14. The method of claim 3 whereindetermining whether the peer device has supplemental content related tothe particular content selection based on the received second tagfurther comprises: comparing the received second tag to the first tag,and determining that the first tag and the received second tagcorrespond to the same content selection based on the comparison of thereceived second tag to the first tag.
 15. The method of claim 3 whereinreceiving the supplemental content from the peer device comprisesrequesting the supplemental content from the peer device and receivingthe supplemental content in response to the request.
 16. The method ofclaim 3 wherein receiving the supplemental content from the peer devicecomprises receiving a weblog entry from the peer device.
 17. The methodof claim 3 wherein receiving the supplemental content from the peerdevice based on a determination that the peer device has supplementalcontent related to the particular content selection comprises: informingthe user that the peer device has supplemental content related to theparticular content selection; and receiving an instruction as input fromthe user to acquire the supplemental content related to the particularcontent selection from the peer device.
 18. A method of exchanginginformation, the method comprising: associating a first contentselection stored on a portable media device with a first tag; accessinga second tag that is made available by a peer device, wherein the secondtag is associated with a second content selection and indicates thatsupplemental content related to the second content selection is storedon the peer device; comparing the first tag to the second tag;identifying a commonality shared by the first content selection and thesecond content selection based on a comparison of the first tag to thesecond tag; and initiating an exchange of the supplemental content fromthe peer device to the portable media device based on the identifiedcommonality shared by the first content selection and the second contentselection, wherein the supplemental content includes a description ofuser reaction to the news article, and wherein the supplemental contentis associated with the news article but remains separate and distinctfrom the news article that is maintained on the portable media device.19. A method of exchanging information, the method comprising:maintaining a digital item on a portable media device; receiving, at theportable media device, a communication from a peer device; determiningif the peer device has supplemental content related to the digital itembased on the received communication, wherein the supplemental contentcomprises a rating of the digital item, an indication of a preferencefor the digital item, or a discussion of the digital item; based on adetermination that the peer device has supplemental content related tothe digital item, receiving the supplemental content from the peerdevice, wherein receiving the supplemental content comprises receivingthe rating of the digital item, the indication of the preference for thedigital item, or the discussion of the digital item; and enabling a userto perceive the received supplemental content.